[...]
> But for every researcher plaintively tweeting that they
> need a paywalled PDF, there are many for whom tracking
> down barricaded knowledge seems too much trouble. Instead,
> they rely on what resources are available.
> This means that a lot of academic research, some of which
> could have profound political implications, is ignored.
So we have what some would call a 'natural experiment' here: even just 10 years ago, the percentage of published academic research available electronically -- behind a paywall or not -- was tiny. Back then access to nearly all academic research took phone calls, xerox machines, and money to get access to. So that "rely on what resources are available" idea was even more so true back then.
How are we doing with a portion -- admittedly still nowhere close to "all" -- of it freely available? Are the 'profound political implications' that were nearly *always* ignored back then having somewhat of a profound impact now? And is there any reason to believe that if the rest of it were magically available for free that we'd be that much better off?
/jordan